It is common practice in automotive vehicles and elsewhere to use a trim seal strip about a door or window. For example, in automotive vehicles, a primary door trim seal strip is attached to a body panel about an opening for a door and seals against the door when closed. The trim seal strip is formed of an extruded polymeric material. A preferred material is composed of ethylene-propylene diene rubber compound, commonly referred to as a EPDM. The trim strip is formed by extruding an unvulcanized blend that contains an EPDM compound with fillers, plasticizers and a vulcanizing agent, and curing the extrusion to crosslink the polymer and form the product rubber compound. The material includes carbon black filler that provides a dark black appearance and reinforcement. On visible surfaces of the trim strip, it is desired to apply a coating having a non-black color that coordinates with surrounding colors to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance. For example, for an automotive primary door trim strip, an interior surface may be coated to coordinate with a color of a headliner in the vehicle. A suitable coating has been formed of colored EPDM rubber, or colored thermoplastic material. Such coatings are relatively soft and susceptible to scratching and marring. EPDM veneers are difficult to color match. On the other hand, thermoplastic layers tend to have poor adhesion to the EPDM base. Still further, during use, residual zinc sulfur agents from the vulcanizing process tend to leach from the EPDM base into the thermoplastic layer and cause discoloration.
Therefore, a need exists for a trim strip for automotive applications and the like that is formed of an extruded EPDM base and includes a veneer having an aesthetically pleasing color and formed of a material having enhanced mar resistance and improved adhesion, and further providing a barrier to inhibit migration of residual agents from the base that would otherwise result in staining of the veneer.